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OT: RIP Mike Bossy

Y

yesrutgers01

Heisman
Nov 9, 2008
122,705
38,477
113
Oh man- that is very sad. I have never been a huge hockey fan but he still became one of my favorite players in any sport. I graduated HS in 1980 so my HS years were filled with Mike Bossy.
He was pretty much Gretzky before there was a Gretzky
 
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M

mdh2003

All-Conference
Feb 4, 2003
4,867
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All due respect to Ovi and Rocket Richard, and any other all time great - To me, and many others that were lucky enough to watch his brilliance in real time, Bossy was the best pure goal scorer ever.
 
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C

Colonel HR

Junior
Nov 18, 2017
235
315
63
I still have my "Mike Bossy" Titan hockey stick in my garage, purchased circa 1983-84. He was a legend, with that booming slap shot from the right wing.
 
K

Knight Owl

All-Conference
Jul 27, 2001
3,536
2,580
0
Fun fact. Of players with at least 350 career goals, Bossy has the highest shooting percentage ever at well over 20%. Guys like him changed the way goalies play.

Fun fact two. Bryan Trottier was really really good and a complete player.

Fun fact three. Growing up a Flyers fan I have to say that Butch Goring was indeed offsides.
 
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R

rurichdog

Heisman
Sep 30, 2006
116,807
14,390
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Knight Owl said:
Fun fact. Of players with at least 350 career goals, Bossy has the highest shooting percentage ever at well over 20%. Guys like him changed the way goalies play.

Fun fact two. Bryan Trottier was really really good and a complete player.

Fun fact three. Growing up a Flyers fan I have to say that Butch Goring was indeed offsides.
Click to expand...
I almost liked this post.
 
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RU_87

RU_87

Junior
Aug 19, 2001
280
265
43
mdh2003 said:
All due respect to Ovi and Rocket Richard, and any other all time great - To me, and many others that were lucky enough to watch his brilliance in real time, Bossy was the best pure goal scorer ever.
Click to expand...
I recall a goal that Bossy scored that I have never seen another like it. Bossy was driving toward the net with some great speed, not sure he was full speed. He got hip-checked where his body was parallel to the ice...he maintained control of the puck with his stick on the ice and using his momentum, lifted the puck off the ice and placed a perfect shot to go past the goaltender. Unfortunately, from what I understand, the old SportsChannel cable provider did not maintain any great quality tape of their hockey games back then and much of the tape has not lived on....but it is etched in my memory.
 
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R

RU-Kidding

All-Conference
Nov 6, 2001
11,875
2,428
81
krup said:
As a Ranger fan who lived through that run, I will say that Bossy was the only Islander it was impossible to hate, and he was the best pure goal scorer I have ever watched.
Click to expand...
Sadly some of those great Islander teams have now lost Bossy, Clark Gilles and Jean Potvin way to young.
 
e5fdny

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
114,995
54,303
102
Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t in real life but he always came across as a really nice guy in interviews as a player and even when he retired.

That’s how I’ll remember him. Just always seemed so happy.
 
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BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine

BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine

Heisman
Jan 12, 2015
39,497
39,617
113
Knight Owl said:
Fun fact. Of players with at least 350 career goals, Bossy has the highest shooting percentage ever at well over 20%. Guys like him changed the way goalies play.

Fun fact two. Bryan Trottier was really really good and a complete player.

Fun fact three. Growing up a Flyers fan I have to say that Butch Goring was indeed offsides.
Click to expand...
2 out of 3 aint bad...
Bossy also owns the highest goal/game average in the regular season at .762. Gretzky the all-time NHL goal scorer of course, is at .601. Bossy was a sharpshooter's sharpshooter.
 
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LeapinLou

LeapinLou

All-American
Jul 24, 2001
13,363
7,203
113
krup said:
As a Ranger fan who lived through that run, I will say that Bossy was the only Islander it was impossible to hate.
Click to expand...
Great point. I didn't like the way he smoked us. But for whatever reason, you didn't hate him.
 
K

Knight Owl

All-Conference
Jul 27, 2001
3,536
2,580
0
BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine said:
2 out of 3 aint bad...
Bossy also owns the highest goal/game average in the regular season at .762. Gretzky the all-time NHL goal scorer of course, is at .601. Bossy was a sharpshooter's sharpshooter.
Click to expand...
Gretzky was the complete offensive package in the 80’s and had 583 goals through his 9 seasons in Edmonton. Bossy was essentially an elite finisher ala Reggie Leach and retired very young due to a bad back. Leach’s ‘75-‘76 season including the playoffs is still one for the ages.
The equipment changes since then make it tough to compare 70’s-80’s guys to more recent players.
 
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RU_87

RU_87

Junior
Aug 19, 2001
280
265
43
Knight Owl said:
Gretzky was the complete offensive package in the 80’s and had 583 goals through his 9 seasons in Edmonton. Bossy was essentially an elite finisher ala Reggie Leach and retired very young due to a bad back. Leach’s ‘75-‘76 season including the playoffs is still one for the ages.
Click to expand...
Not sure I can fully recall but I believe Gretzky also came at a time of change in the NHL that Bossy was still in the middle of the change from the violent / fighting era. Gillies, Nystrom and Howatt were enforcers as well as there to somewhat protect Bossy but many went after him early on so he had to be that sharp shooter / sniper. NHL did quite a few things to reduce fighting and although Gretzky may have felt a bit of that in his early NHL career, he benefit from more of a skating game that grew through his career.
 
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BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine

BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine

Heisman
Jan 12, 2015
39,497
39,617
113
Knight Owl said:
Gretzky was the complete offensive package in the 80’s and had 583 goals through his 9 seasons in Edmonton. Bossy was essentially an elite finisher ala Reggie Leach and retired very young due to a bad back. Leach’s ‘75-‘76 season including the playoffs is still one for the ages.
The equipment changes since then make it tough to compare 70’s-80’s guys to more recent players.
Click to expand...
No argument at all that Gretzky was and will likely always be The Great One. However those Patrick Div games (Isles/Philly/Rangers/Caps/Pittsburgh) in the 80's -regular season and the playoffs- were all out wars grinding down the elite scorers compared to the Edmonton flyboys skating circles out west.
 
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RU_87

RU_87

Junior
Aug 19, 2001
280
265
43
LeapinLou said:
To this day, I still say "Potvin Sucks". He was a bonafide villain.
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For many years after (even after Potvin was no longer playing), someone I knew that was a Flyers fan, used to tell me how he'd visit other arena's to watch random hockey games and any time an organ player would play the bomp, bomp, bomp-bomp-bomp-bomp, he and his friends would stand up and yell 'Potvin sucks'. So, it wasn't limited to Rangers fans or the Garden.
 
R

rurichdog

Heisman
Sep 30, 2006
116,807
14,390
0
BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine said:
No argument at all that Gretzky was and will likely always be The Great One. However those Patrick Div games (Isles/Philly/Rangers/Caps/Pittsburgh) in the 80's -regular season and the playoffs- were all out wars grinding down the elite scorers compared to the Edmonton flyboys skating circles out west.
Click to expand...
One of my favorite commercials ever was Cam Neely's Nike spot, The Cam Neely Workout.
"Get right in front of the net...you know you're doing it right when you feel it right here in your back..."
"If you don't have a Ray Bourque, just use whatever you got around the house."

Shows what those guys had to deal with, in a funny way.

 
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K

Knight Owl

All-Conference
Jul 27, 2001
3,536
2,580
0
BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine said:
No argument at all that Gretzky was and will likely always be The Great One. However those Patrick Div games (Isles/Philly/Rangers/Caps/Pittsburgh) in the 80's -regular season and the playoffs- were all out wars grinding down the elite scorers compared to the Edmonton flyboys skating circles out west.
Click to expand...
I know for a fact that Mark Howe thinks Gretzky was on his own level at the top. I should have asked Howe about Mario as I’m sure they would have played more than a few games against one another.
 
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R

rufeelinit

All-Conference
May 16, 2010
12,647
4,351
0
Just a pure goal scorer. Not sure the best of all time but in the most elite group. A true professional. Trottier was more well rounded and Smith and D. Potvin were just as important but #22 was class all the way around.
 
B

Beancounter88

All-Conference
Dec 22, 2010
3,490
2,340
0
I remember watching an interview on Rangers post-game years ago. Gaboric was being interviewed after a good game and he was comparing himself to Bossy. The interviewer (can’t remember who it was - maybe Pitdo) was like “c’mon now, few players in history were like Mike Bossy”.
 
Mufasa94

Mufasa94

Senior
Jan 9, 2009
1,175
999
113
RU_87 said:
I recall a goal that Bossy scored that I have never seen another like it. Bossy was driving toward the net with some great speed, not sure he was full speed. He got hip-checked where his body was parallel to the ice...he maintained control of the puck with his stick on the ice and using his momentum, lifted the puck off the ice and placed a perfect shot to go past the goaltender. Unfortunately, from what I understand, the old SportsChannel cable provider did not maintain any great quality tape of their hockey games back then and much of the tape has not lived on....but it is etched in my memory.
Click to expand...
Don’t recall ever seeing the goal described, but assuming it is included in the following clip:

Sad news.
 
L

LETSGORU91_

All-American
Jan 29, 2017
6,500
7,245
0
He was finished just a bit after I started following hockey, but the Bossy name was well known. I'm appreciating the input from those here who watched him. RIP Mike.
 
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